By David Lohr
May 17, 2007
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA. (Crime Library) — Experience Manheim Township — A patch in the handwoven quilt of diversified strength and traditions — in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. What you just read is the opening statement taken from Manheim Township's community website, Manheimtownship.org.
Lancaster County is known throughout the United States, and perhaps the world, as the Garden Spot of America. People travel far and wide to take in the sights and sounds of the area's most popular residents, the Pennsylvania Dutch, also referred to as the Amish. Unfortunately, I am not here to give you a history lesson or to regale you with tales of this county's rich history. As is the case with most every story I write, I am here to relate to you a brutal murder, this time of an upper-class family from a historic countryside province.
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| Haines' Home |
At about 2:20 a.m. on May 12, Margaret "Maggie" Haines, 20, was awakened by a commotion coming from her brother's bedroom. When she went to investigate, she heard her mother call to her from her bedroom. When she stepped inside, she found her mother, Lisa Ann, 47, sitting on the edge of her bed, bleeding profusely from a wound to her stomach. Barely conscious, Lisa told her daughter to "go get help." Maggie quickly ran next door to a neighbor's house and called 911.
When investigators arrived on the scene, they discovered that Lisa had succumbed to her injuries and died. Her husband, Thomas Alan, 50, was lying on the bed behind her. He was also dead. In a nearby hallway, authorities discovered Margaret's 16-year-old brother Kevin. As with his parents, he had also been stabbed to death.
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| Thomas Alan Haines |
According to police, the perpetrator did not steal anything from the home. The murder weapon was not found at the scene, and there were no signs of forced entry; however, investigators did discover that a door at the rear of the home was open. Police removed several items from the home; however, according to Lancaster County District Attorney Donald Totaro, that information has been sealed because it could compromise the investigation.
On Monday, Lancaster County Coroner Dr. G. Gary Kirchner conducted autopsies on all three victims. "Violent death for all three," Kirchner told the Intelligencer Journal. According to his final report, Thomas and his son had both been stabbed multiple times in the chest, while Mrs. Haines was stabbed just once in the abdomen. "Who the hell did this?" Kirchner said. "I mean, that neighborhood is a class neighborhood." Following the autopsies, the victims' bodies were released to Charles F. Snyder, Jr. Funeral Home and Chapel, Inc. in Lititz.
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